Iran May Pass #MeToo Law Outlawing Sexual Violence Against Women

After a decade of deliberation, Iran’s government approved a bill on Sunday that criminalizes violence and sexual misconduct against women and specifies punishments for perpetrators.

The decision to move ahead with the bill — which, if approved, will be the first law of its kind in Iran’s penal code — comes in the aftermath of a groundbreaking #MeToo movement and shocking reports of so-called honor killings that have gripped the public over the past six months.

The bill, which has been passed by the cabinet, must now be adopted by the country’s conservative Parliament to become law, but women’s advocates

Facebook and Twitter go to new lengths to limit the reach of Trump’s calls for violence

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Social media companies are grappling with the reactions to the insurrection that broke out on Wednesday at the US Capitol. Despite plenty of time and warning, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube still seemed to be scrambling in their response to President Trump’s calls for an uprising in the wake of his election loss. In the aftermath of the Capitol violence, Twitter and Facebook are now implementing some of the toughest measures yet to limit Trump’s reach.

Twitter took the unprecedented action of locking Trump’s account for 12 hours — a period that will begin after Trump goes into his own account …

Covid Vaccine Rollouts in Europe Are Off to a Shaky Start

With a more contagious variant of the coronavirus forcing England to impose a strict new national lockdown and European nations extending restrictions in the face of rising cases, political leaders have promised that mass vaccinations will bring an end to the suffering.

But in the race to beat the virus, the virus is still way out in front.

There are shortages of needles in Italy, Greece and other countries. Spain has not trained enough nurses. France has only managed to vaccinate around 7,000 people. Poland’s program was rocked by scandal after it was revealed that celebrities were given preferential treatment.

Hong Kong Police Arrest Dozens of Pro-Democracy Leaders

A few months later, in November, the government disqualified four pro-democracy incumbents who it said had supported or had been inadequately critical of U.S. sanctions on the city; the remaining opposition members resigned in protest.

The arrests on Wednesday heightened the possibility that many of Hong Kong’s best-known pro-democracy politicians would not be able to run in the rescheduled elections this fall, either because they could be in prison or because their arrests would give officials reasons to disqualify them.

John Lee, Hong Kong’s secretary for security, said that the arrested activists, if elected, would have tried to paralyze Hong …

Big Bags, Tiny Beanies, and Chunky Dunkys: This Is the Early-Season NBA Style Report

There is one ironclad rule when it comes to NBA analysis: it is never too soon to overreact. There is no sample size too small and no take too hot. I listened to a podcast last week weighing the MVP candidacy of New York Knickerbocker legend Julius Randle—a sentence that somehow sounds even less crazy today! And in the NBA, what’s happening off the court (and in the arena tunnels) is equally deserving of our attention. We crunched the numbers and looked at the advanced statistics to examine the early season returns on NBA style.

Jordan Clarkson of the Utah

The Best Leather Jackets Are a Confidence Boost You Can Wear

Here’s a brief hypothetical that illustrates the raw power of the best leather jackets for men: Let’s say you’re going to a party. (Remember those? We’re post-COVID in this hypothetical.) You aren’t even dressed yet, and your anxiety is already begging you to stay put, hoodie up, and introduce your old pal Thai food to your new boo Disney+. What are your options? You could gorge on a bunch of CBD on your way out the door—only, let’s be honest, that stuff is all a bit suspect. You could guzzle some good ol’ fashioned liquid courage the moment you arrive, …

Julian Assange Extradition to U.S. Blocked Over Mental Health Concerns

LONDON — A British judge ruled on Monday that the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the United States to face trial on charges of violating the Espionage Act, saying he would be at extreme risk of suicide.

The decision in the high-profile case grants Mr. Assange a major victory against the U.S. authorities who charged him over his role in obtaining and publishing secret military and diplomatic documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rights groups and advocates applauded the ruling, but many expressed concern about its rationale. The judge focused on Mr. Assange’s mental

Mexico Approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine for Emergency Use.

Mexico approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for emergency use on Monday, the country’s top epidemiologist, Hugo López-Gatell, announced in a tweet on Monday evening. It is the fourth country to approve the vaccine.

Mexico’s foreign secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, had previously said the approval was “imminent.”

Mr. Ebrard celebrated the approval on Monday evening as “very good news,” tweeting that it would allow the country to start production “very soon.” AstraZeneca said in August it would work with the Mexican and Argentine governments to produce 150 million initial doses for distribution across Latin America, and later produce at least 400 million

The Best Denim Shirts Are a Cheat Code for Good Style

Dennis Hopper, Paul Newman, Marvin Gaye: Are you ready to join the ranks of the most legendary denim-shirt men? Those fellas understood that the right denim shirt won’t just make you look rugged and handsome and all kinds of confident—it’ll also solve virtually any wardrobe-related dilemma that comes your way. For instance:

  • Got your sixth wedding of the summer coming up and fully tapped out of dress-shirt-and-tie combos you like? Throw a denim shirt into the mix, and your tired cotton suit’s suddenly supercharged with rugged sex appeal.

  • Copped some wild patterned pants on a whim and now concerned you

4 criminal laws that Trump may have violated in his Georgia election call

On Sunday, the Washington Post published a recording of an extraordinary phone call between President Donald Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which the outgoing president urged Raffensperger, a Republican, to “find” enough votes to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia.

Over the course of the call, which took place on Saturday, Trump raised several baseless claims that some of the ballots cast in the state of Georgia are “corrupt,” as well as evidence-free claims that some unidentified person is “shredding ballots” in the state. Trump claims that Raffensperger and his office’s general counsel, Ryan Germany, …